Yuma Union educator wins Arizona honor for transition services work

Kacie Baker’s work helping Yuma Union High School District students with disabilities prepare for adulthood has earned one of Arizona’s top transition-services honors, with Baker named one of only two recipients of the 2026 Arizona Educator Secondary Transition Services Award.

The district identifies Baker as its School to Work Transition Specialist, a role focused on guiding students and families through the move from secondary school to adult life. Yuma Union’s postsecondary-transition materials say those services are designed to help students with disabilities reach postsecondary goals, including paths into employment, college and other adult supports.

Baker said her job reaches beyond paperwork and scheduling. She attends Individualized Education Program meetings across the district, where school staff and families map out the accommodations and supports students need. She also helps organize the district’s transition fair, which has become one of the clearest public windows into the resources available before students reach 11th and 12th grade.

The most recent fair, held Oct. 22, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the YUHSD District Office Board Room, was open to the community and structured as an open-house event. District materials said it was meant to connect families with community-based services, college and postsecondary options, military options, assistive technology and other supports. Nearly 200 people attended.

That turnout matters because transition planning often determines whether a student leaves high school with a workable next step or without one. Yuma Union’s resource packet lists local partners including ACHIEVE Human Services, Arizona@Work, the Arizona Western College Accessibility Office and Community Health Associates, all part of the network Baker helps families navigate as they look toward jobs, training or further education.

The Arizona Department of Education’s Secondary Transition Services Awards recognize excellence in transition services and successful navigation of the planning process toward adulthood. For the 2026 cycle, the nomination deadline was extended to May 22, and winners are set to be recognized at the Arizona IDEA Conference, scheduled for Aug. 18-20, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort.

Baker said the recognition reflects collaboration across the district and community, and she said her work is shaped in part by being a parent of a child with disabilities. For Yuma Union, the award spotlights a specialist whose job sits at the center of a practical question many families face: whether a student leaves high school with a clear path to work, college or adult services, and the supports lined up to get there.